I'm not so sure he should be prosecuted. Isn't it up to the victim whether to make a complaint? She chose not to, and I think we should respect her choice.

The reason the ancient Athenians moved to public prosecution for crimes was precisely because private prosecution allowed the rich and powerful to victimise the poor and weak with impunity. And I don't think anyone in New Zealand (other than perhaps certain select members of our rich and powerful) would be happy with that.

what is the victim knew that if this became public she would become a public figure. maybe she felt she'd lived though enough?

and maybe she didn't want it to become public because of the way media treats victims of domestic violence and all the nasty comments that pop up on talkback/blogs etc. shouldn't we be working on changing that rather than allowing it to occur by letting the victims contract out of prosecution?

what is the victim knew that if this became public she would become a public figure. maybe she felt she'd lived though enough?

Maybe that's what she was thinking, and that's entirely her prerogative. But the fact of the matter is that it _is_ public now (and didn't have to be - in fact, couldn't have been made public if it had gone to court and name suppression had been given). And, frankly, it's surprising it stayed quiet this long. Given how badly injured she was and how long she had to take off work, it was incredibly unlikely it was never going to come to light.

No matter how much Veitch goes on about counselling and being a better person, the fact of the matter is that he committed a very serious crime and then used money to hush it up and escape legal consequences. If he's really rehabilitated or rehabilitatable, if convicted, he would get parole pretty quickly. But that doesn't excuse what he did, or mean he doesn't deserve to be charged - and the way that he presented lots of "explanations" for his behaviour says that he's not exactly taking full responsibility even now.

surely the police can get access to her medical records from the hospital

Surely not! Seriously, if that's possible in the absence of a complaint I'm disturbed beyond words. Medical records are private! As an example, a friend used to be an Army medic. Access to medical records in the military is treated as a matter of minor classification, major need-to-know, and not even the base commander can get access to the records of anyone other than themselves without permission or a court order. The whole doctor-patient privilege is sacrosanct for a reason.

This is where a potential prosecution will fall down. Without a complaint, unless the police can convince a court that there's a very good reason to be given access to her records they will remain properly confidential. In the absence of those records, the police have an inadequate confession and nothing more.

I too am bothered about the way the media have gone about their work here. Their exposure of Ms Dunn-Powell's plight leaves her vulnerable and in the public gaze.Yes T.V is in the industry and his actions both then and now are appalling, but there is a pack mentality working here which has focussed on him which does not operate on most of all the other perpetrators. A few high profile offenders outed will not expose the scourge of domestic assault. Name and shame will only force the issue behind the closed doors of our already closed front doors and make it more difficult for the victims of the abuse to come out.

The first thing that billboard said to me was that the person paid to be quiet had cheated.

I agree entirely...it's really f*cking poor from Tui and suggests that the victim was the one who disclosed the information.

But then this sort of behaviour and Tui.....

The other thing that I find interesting, is that the news story should be taking a tack towards the "this sort of thing is incredibly widespread in NZ, it's not just South Auckland where this sort of shit goes down".

And while I've seen it touched upon, noone's really asked "does this mean wealthy people can get away with this sort of thing?"

Surely not! Seriously, if that's possible in the absence of a complaint I'm disturbed beyond words. Medical records are private!

then what would be the point of allowing a case to go ahead without a formal complaint, not just in this case but in any case? that law becomes pointless without the medical evidence being able to be accessed. to me there's a public interest argument in a case like this, where the violence is so severe. that doesn't mean that those records have to become public documents - surely the rules around suppression can be used to protect the privacy of the victim?

You'll have to excuse my French, but I feel it is warranted here: what a cunt. Veitch has cultivated an image of cocksure, blokey machismo which I'm sure many Kiwi men identify with. To be guilty of an act of such craven cowardice and viciousness shows he is just typical of the streak of bastards amongst us at whom the 'It's Not Ok' campaign is squarely aimed, weak pricks who think beating seven shades out of a woman in some way attests to their masculinity.

On has to feel for Ms Dunne-Powell. She will be reliving the trauma of an awful incident she would have hoped was behind her. Payoff or not, I'm sure she would far rather this was not being dredged up. Then again, would love to know what instigated the anonymous tip off to the Dom...

i'd also be interested in the code of ethics for lawyers, as paul pointed out in the fundy post do they have absolutely no responsibility to report the crime, even as they draw up the settlement agreement around it?

No, is the short version. The long version is found at Rule 1.08 of the NZ Law Society's code of ethics. Disclosure relating to a planned crime is permitted, and mandatory where the planned crime relates to harm of a person. Other than that the exceptions are around mandated disclosure or disclosure necessary for the carrying on of the legal practice (such as determining applicable fees).So not only do they have no "responsibility" to do so, they have an absolute obligation not to do so unless ordered by a court. Being disbarred is the standard punishment for a breach of client confidentiality.

How did the Dominion Post access this story? Why has it taken so long? How could medical people have believed that she had an accident? Are there things we don't know that might count as mitigating circumstances?

Last night TV One made one of the best local Dramas I have seen. Using the best spinners they had, they tried to make us feel sorry for a man who badly injured a woman. I was taught that to hit a woman was absolutely forbidden. I still think so and I teach and model that to my kids. Tony had many years of frustration leading to this and needed help. Now it's too late. He needs to take his medicine and that may be jail. I find it interesting though, because usually the media try to make us feel sorry for the victim, but that's usually in the case of abused animals. Kinda cock-eyed really, the whole slant by TV One.